So all ten of these teams plus three more are going to states? Holy cow!

Plus FOUR more!! That's incredible! Also, gotta point out that crazy improvement by Chatsworth from R1 to make it into the top 10! Here's hoping CAD will put out the divisions listings soon (with a blank for San Diego County, of course)... brb frantically refreshing

Edit: North Hollywood, Hamilton, Valley Academy, and Narbonne are the other four (in that order)!

The old retired guy is very proud of the LAUSD Decathletes and Coaches. Special congrats to Chatsworth and Valley Academy who are going to State for the first time ever.

I count myself lucky to have had the chance to shake the great Cliff Ker's hand at World Scholar's Cup events in Los Angeles over the last four years. Many thanks to Cliff and Beyond the Bell for making opportunities possible. We've had teams from La Salle make some noise on the global scene the last couple years, and Cliff is to thank for making that happen. Gracias, mi amigo.

Thank you for the kind words. It was my pleasure to help facilitate the programs for such dedicated students and educators.

Awww no!! Shirley you can't be serious! It's so sad to see you go -- it's always sad to see someone with such passion leave the program, and your presence will be sorely missed. It was an honor getting to know you over the Internets and to meet you in person several times, and I'm glad our involvements in the program overlapped. Best of wishes to you and your retirement/bikery.

P.S. Why on earth is this in "NOT Serious Discussions"?? This is a VERY serious discussion! D:

It has been a joy to be involved with the program for the past twenty three years; seventeen as regional coordinator. Thirteen national championship teams, and so many other great teams, Decathletes, and Coaches. As much as I would like to stay involved, it doesn't look like the current hierarchy here will allow that to happen. Whatever the case, it has been a great run. I have had the honor to meet so many people from this site in person: zzzptm, TinDefacto, madcap, Stanley Tree, The Evil Dr. Calculus, Allan21996, Stealer of Souls. And my friends from the area, schwartzy18, DTLA, and fyzics. And last of all, the guy who got me involved in so many aspects of the program, Demidec Dan.

Wisconsin Academic Decathlon and USAD are looking for volunteers for Nationals. The biggest need is for either speech or interview on April 20. If you are interested, or know anyone that could help, please go to the USAD site:

There was a 500 dollar math and science scholarship, and a scholarship given by the coaches that is made on the spot in the 2.5 days before the awards thanks to the wonderful Ms. Gabby Scully. If she didn't do that scholarship, we'd have nothing.

Haven't done exact math yet, but we lost 1000 points in interview from County. When the margin to first was only 219 that hurts. One counter dropped more than 300 in speech. Hmm. At any rate I'm really happy for the team that they were able to get up on the stage. Great job.

My quick analysis of the interview scores for all eleven of my teams shows a huge drop from regionals to State.

Really sad and upset rn. Found out last night and have been mulling over my thoughts for hours. Strongly feel that the SQ scores should be discounted. It's what I would do if a classroom exam were compromised.

We have said for years that a danger of having California's state competition so late is that the information is out there. But whereas we used to think about unscrupulous people who would fly to another state surreptitiously to skulk around getting the questions ahead of time, now people can just Google it any time, anywhere.

ADSIC was founded by David Gilman, Kort Jackson and Adam Cornish on March 15, 2007. Gilman, aka Gil, continues to graciously host the site on his domain. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered time to get the wiki as expansive and up-to-date as possible, and to those who continue to do so!!

Also, we have made a Twitter account (@ADSIC_) that you can follow for the most recent AcDec news, results, scores, and other miscellany! Pls follow. :3

Thanks to all of you guys who maintain the site. It is a huge part of the culture of Academic Decathlon.

I have never heard that before, and have worked several competitions in California. Not sure what they say in Arizona or others states, but that is crazy if they do say that.[/quote]It depends of course on the specific administrators for the program and how well-versed in AD they are, but it is something that actually exists and that comes from the national organization. I also thought it was just a rumor until I heard otherwise from the program chairs. I'm hoping it's on the way out but it most certainly does exist, and the coaches who have been here a long time are well aware that this sort of thing happens.[/quote]

Interesting. Almost sixteen years as a regional coordinator, board member for state for more than seven years, thirteen national competitions and this is the first time I have ever heard this. If it does exist, it does not apply in California.

Yes, the people who do the scoring for CAD are two of the most thorough, ethical, and competent persons I have known in my career. No one is perfect. I accept the explanation that it was a software glitch that did not throw up a red flag that a Scantron form had not been scanned. I have personally been involved in thumbing through huge piles of Scantron forms looking for one or two in order to verify that everything was scored correctly.

Is this a huge disappointment for Franklin? Of course. Did CAD get the scores right? Of course. Does CAD work hard each year with minimal personnel to run a fair and efficient competition? Obviously yes. Am I an apologist for CAD? No way!

I know that there are many persons working to make sure that the Franklin Decathletes have the chance to compete at the next level, in one way or another. Stay tuned.